BUZZ: Twenty-nine shows to entertain you this summer with Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival

Created in 1979 with the intent to bring people back to Prospect Park, the Celebrate Brooklyn! Performing Arts Festival is now in its 35th year.

The summer-long festival is composed of 29 shows, highlighting artists from Brooklyn and around the world—including from across the U.S, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and Europe.

Having begun on June 5, the programming is “reflective of the borough’s vast diversity, featuring a wide array of free, world-class performances,” according to BRIC, which coordinates and produces the event.

“When BRIC launched Celebrate Brooklyn! our free programming was a welcome cultural innovation that celebrated Brooklyn’s diversity and deployed the arts as economic stimulus and community builder,” said BRIC President Leslie Schultz.

Many years later, the tradition is still standing.

Twenty-four of the 29 shows are free, with a $3 suggested contribution at the gate. The remaining concerts are benefit concerts.

Artists include Grouplove/Alpine; Mavis Staples/Cody ChestnuTT; Ladysmith Black Mambazo; Theophilus London/Les Nubians/Aabaraki; The Tiger Lillies; Cynthia Hopkins; The Waterboys/Alasdair Roberts; Bebe Winans/Alicia Olatuja; and so many more.

“We know that this year’s lineup will entertain longtime park fans and hopefully attract a whole new generation to discover all that Prospect Park has to offer,” said the President of the Prospect Park Alliance, Emily Lloyd, a partner in presenting the festival.

The 35th anniversary Celebrate Brooklyn! has invited many of the previous artists to return to be a part of another of the festival’s successful years. The Series Title Sponsor Bud Light has also returned for its 12th year, presenting the Bud Light Music Series including Big Boy/Phony Ppl/D-Nice, and They Might Be Giants/Moon Hooch.

For more information and a complete lineup of the artists, visit http://bricartsmedia.org/about/news/press-releases/bric-announces-2013-celebrate-brooklyn-season-at-prospect-park-bandshell.

The series will continue through August 10.

Photos: Ryan Muir

Celebrate Brooklyn! Brings a vast range of music to Prospect Park, this summer.

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